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Ivan Zhakata–Herald Correspondent 

ZIMPLATS Mhondoro, Chegutu, Zvimba Community Share Ownership Trust has thanked the platinum miner for its role in uplifting local livelihoods through the creation of income-generating projects and businesses that provide employment opportunities for young people and other community members. 

Industry and Commerce Minister Mangaliso Ndlovu last week toured projects undertaken by the community with the aid of Zimplats. Some of the projects included beef and dairy farming, combined technical services, mining support services, citrus farming and poultry.

Speaking during the visit, safety, health, environment and quality officer at Combined Technical Services (CTS) Miss Fatima Sunura highlighted the importance of gaining practical experience for young job seekers. 

“We are incredibly grateful to Zimplats for providing us with this opportunity,” she said. “As young people, securing employment can be challenging due to lack of experience. CTS has given us the platform to develop our skills and knowledge in a real-world setting.”

CTS foreman Mr Prosper Madzima emphasised the company’s achievements in local manufacturing. 

“We are proud to be contributing to Zimbabwe’s industrial growth by fabricating essential components for the mining industry,” he said. “Through initiatives like extending the lifespan of machinery, we are not only saving costs but also developing valuable skills within our community.”

The businesses represented a significant step towards empowering the Ngezi community and fostering sustainable development in the region. The trust’s chief executive officer Mr Wilson Chinzou said they were doing some of the projects in partnership with local farmers.

“These projects were made possible by some local farmers who had good farms, that were being underused,” he said.

“We now have got the creation of employment and there are a lot of people that are working here. There is a lot of planning in terms of maintaining the projects that you see. 

“The community benefits through the out-growers model that we are implementing. The farmers in the communal areas, the A2 farmers and the A1 farmers get inputs for some projects,” said Mr Chinzou.

He added that they have been working with more than 90 farmers and more were coming on board. 

“We are expanding because we had the Sable Chicken chief executive officer, who are our partners, saying that there is going to be an expansion. We are putting spirals in another habitat in Sable Chicken too and that means that our communities are going to benefit through more outgrowers that are going to come in.” 

Minister Ndlovu said a lot of progress has been made from the time when the trust was given capital of around US$10 million by Zimplats more than a decade ago. 

“The trust has been able to diversify and come up with new income generating projects, one of them being a partnership with Sable Chicken here, where they are into citrus production,” he said. 

“This is a very exciting project, which aligns quite very well with our National Development Strategy 1, looking at how they are creating partnerships with some of the farmers around, with the latest equipment, particularly on the drip irrigation systems. 

 “As you would know that the President has a programme already of giving each household 10 fruit trees, it is interesting to note that here, they think that the citrus can do very well, and I would imagine that the Ministry of Lands will be able to leverage on this and maybe focus more on the citrus fruits this side.

“The most amazing part about this partnership is what Zimplats has been able to do, creating local enterprises where they identify groups within the community. They support them to set up, they even loan them to produce some of the raw materials and inputs that they are using as a mining entity,” said Minister Ndlovu.

He said he was impressed to see young people who were into metal fabrication, repurposing some of Zimplats equipment that would otherwise have been abandoned because it would have reached its life cycle.